Weekly Intent

Be the king of your inner empire, I tell myself. Know every thoughts and feelings that inhabit it. Harmonize every occupants in your body, heart and mind. Govern them with love and respect. Nurture those who nourish others and exile those whose aggression threatens the health of your kingdom. Only when you are the leader of your inner sphere can you realize your human potential. I'm stirred and inspired by the current state of the politics -- the rise of the citizens who wake up to the challenge of taking on the governing as their personal responsibility. Unity is the principle of governing. To unite requires at least two things existed apart but none is repressed to the point of non-existent because that would be the end of unity and complete chaos. Though I couldn't participate in the Women's March I did my part in empowering myself and those who desire to govern their inner realm by teaching yoga all day.

Governing isn't controlling. It's knowing the movement that animates every trillions cells in the body and every thoughts and feelings. When you are a true leader, you take the responsibility of ensuring every existence and experience in the being live up to their useful potential. When you know the movement or sensations in the body, heart and mind you can coordinate within and regulate the your actions with the outer environment harmoniously. Tiny revolts from the fringed cells, thoughts, and feelings are to be expected. They come and go without creating a big disruption that leads to a systemic collapse. Your failure in governing leads to big revolts that are the symptoms of psychosomatic ills, much like what transpired socially throughout the nation last Saturday. This is the force of balance. You can either flow with it or be blown by it.

My Yoga Mudra workshop was planned way ahead of the announcement of the Women's March. I felt exuberant throughout the weekend marching to my own beats while sending gratitude to those marching theirs. Mudras are seal or concentration. They're subtle asanas or yoga postures that focus mainly on hand gestures. Like pranayama, the mudra practice requires mental acuity because of its subtlety. If you're mentally distracted you can't attune to the inner experience. Chronic disassociation leads to psychosomatic agitation. The so called spiritual practices of yoga, meditation, pranayama and mudras are simply ways to tune the mind to the body and vice versa. Once your attention is inward you can drop the resistance against the sensory experiences and allow them to fully be themselves which in turn nourish your entire system. When there is no great rift within our hearts the divide doesn't trigger fear or repression into destructive revolts. The Women's March went down in the history as the most massive peaceful global protest. When we reject from a connected heart we strengthen compassion and one another. Let us govern ourselves and each other from and to unity.